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#51
08/29/2006, 05:48 AM
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WOW!! Very nice!!!
I love the sump! That is exactly what I was looking for. I was going to order one with a complete setup, but now see that it can be custom made. Would you mind passing along the contact person who built your sump? thank you!! |
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#52
08/30/2006, 01:45 AM
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Quote:
The labels came from: www.aquaticeco.com Just a heads up, but my laptop is down with a bad video chip. Will probaby be a few weeks before I can get around to sending it in. In the mean time I'm bumming the other half's PC so more than likely no pics and somewhat limited posting for a while. Apparently, even MAC's aren't immune to factory defects. Time for some serious sucking up with a customer service rep up in Cuppertino  Cheers Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 08/30/2006 at 01:57 AM. |
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#53
08/30/2006, 01:53 AM
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As for my sump, Steve over at www.socalcreations.com made it for me. IMO, his work is pretty much on par with Jason at Invision. For those within reasonable driving distance you might even be able to sweet talk him or Randy into delivering it for a nominal charge. Brett |
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#54
08/30/2006, 02:03 AM
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Brett,
Cool, I didn't even notice the gray spaflex. I was inquiring about the gray rigid PVC and fitting? I have only been able to find black at Savko and gray at Usplastics.
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I refrain from using the word "hobby". You don't refer to your dog or cat as a "hobby." |
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#55
08/30/2006, 02:13 AM
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The Gray piping and fittings are from USPlastics. It's actually sch40 pipe and they will cut it down to 5' lengths so it can be shipped UPS. Ballvalves and bulkheads are a mix of Savko and Marine Depot.
Also, some may have already noticed that I used single union over tru-union valves. Reason being is with the exception of the pumps I've never really found a need to dissassemble much of my plumbing. I figured I would save a few bucks on the valves and cut the number of potential leak locations in half at the same time. I've already dropped in a few spin couplers here and there so between the valves and the couplers I can take almost everything apart if need be. Worst case scenario I find myself moving the tank someday down the road it's going to be empty anyways so ballvalves will be a moot point. The single unions should allow for dissassembly just fine. If not, I have power tools and I'm not afraid to use them Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#57
10/05/2006, 04:03 PM
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Very cool!!!
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#58
10/06/2006, 11:44 AM
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Quote:
I figured I'd use at least half, and just hang on to the rest, but I have actually wound up using very little as I am hard plumbing pretty much everything except the pumps. I'm not sure if there is anyone out there selling gray PVC by the foot beyond the people I got my stuff from. I just checked their site and most of the stuff by the foot is all white. They have some 1/2" gray and 1/2" black by the foot if anyone is interested, but the 1" and 1.5" is all priced per roll. Beyond that, no real tank progress to report as I've been kinda bouncing from project to project around the house. And whatever time and money I had beyond that has pretty much been eaten up getting the kids ready to go back to school. Geez! I thought I was ready for this step dad thing but man are they proving to be EXPENSIVE! Who woulda thunk? You should have seen the supply list that the school's mailed out... you could outfit a small business with the number of items they had on the list. And of course the oldest wants to play violin so we had to pick one of those up. And then there were material fees for the middle one's art class after school. And lunch cards, and bus fees, and (didn't see this one coming) Dr. visits to make sure their shots are all up to date and they are healthy and physically fit. And just when you think you're done, they come home with yet another list that they are given on the first day of school. And of course this being this is my first year wrangling kids I have absolutely no clue as to what I'm doing. So I'm doing my best to fake it. Lucky for me, my better half just tells me when and where I need to be and I roll with it. Otherwise, I have managed to just about finish the rest of the tile in the living room, so at least I can start moving my furniture back into place. That has opened up some space and cleaned things up considerably. I also had some electrical work done so I now have new outlets in the garage for the 2nd fridge/frrezer that my s/o tells me is mandatory equipment for a family of five. I still haven't done a darn thing with the top for the stand, which I really need to get moving on, as that's the next step. I just can't seem to make up my mind whether it's going to be a solid slab of granite, some flashy laminate, or individual tile. I'm also still kicking around my lighting choices, but no real progress there either. SLS is coming out with what looks to be a really promising new Maristar variant. However, they have just confirmed that it will only come in black  So they have been abruptly crossed off the list. IceCap is looking good with their new overdriven T5 hood, but they are only offering it in a 4 foot model to start off. I need a 3 footer. ELOS has a sweet setup (although not overdriven) but they want an additional $250 per unit for custom colors. A lot of the German stuff looks nice, especially the one that is modular and you can mix and match pieces to suit your needs. But info is somewhat limited as they are mostly a custom order here in the U.S. My lighting requirements are: a trio of 3 foot fixtures running across the tank. Preferably, with all overdriven T5 - although I'm not ruling out having a few 150w DE MH mixed in. The final selling point is they have to be stylish as this is going to be an open top tank. None of those industry standard, clunky, black powder coated boxes hanging over this tank. No siree! Regardless, anyway I slice this one I'm looking at between 3k & 4k in lighting when all things are said and done. Brett Last edited by Putawaywet; 10/06/2006 at 11:57 AM. |
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#59
10/06/2006, 03:16 PM
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If you are set on T5 then this wont help, but I had the same problem, it needed to be stylish since it was in a front room and still provide the light I needed This is what I went with and couldnt have been happier
It is 6ft long and has 3 250 DE HQI and 2 175 DE HQI. It has a remote ballast that I put in a cabinet on the side of the tank (cut out the back). It hangs from two silver cables that you can adjust up or down as you need to get into the tank.  If you want any more info on it just pm me |
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#60
10/06/2006, 04:25 PM
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stlouisguy - appreciate the thought, but that's a bit more MH than I am looking to go with. Sure looks like it puts out a good deal of light though.
One of my wants right now is to do a big tank lit with T5. (preferably overdriven) In lieu of that, something like a quad T5 / single 150w MH type of fixture. Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#61
10/07/2006, 05:02 AM
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Brett,
I was afraid of that. Got any grey spaflex you want to sell? I may go all black or black and gray plumbing. I don't think I can fully avoid gray. Kids - I bet that has been a fun learning curve. As far as violins go, you should ask that bergzy fellow if you can borrow one of his.  Top of stand - can't help you there, but I can offer some advice on lighting. I am in the same boat. There aren't many options out there. Status of silver pendant manufacturers that sell in the US. Aquaconnect - Not available in US any longer Aqua Medic - Sunlight NG (internal ballasts), Oceanlight Giesemann - All fixtures are having their ballast redesigned (per two good sources). These are supposed to be coming into the US in a few weeks. They show serious promise: http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.c...-Large_001.gif Sfiligoi - Quite a few options. http://www.aquariumobsessed.com/ Grotech - Photon line http://www.grotech.de/ENGLISH/index....chtungstechnik Available via dropship via finsreef. I should just have my sister bring back some lighting systems from Europe on her next trip back. I have inquired about the Aqua Medic Ocean Light (I believe stlouisguy has one above). Several seasoned users have stated that they really like the pendant, and the price makes it twice as attractive. More importantly, they stated that they would buy one again.
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I refrain from using the word "hobby". You don't refer to your dog or cat as a "hobby." |
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#62
10/07/2006, 11:23 AM
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Appreciate those links - they help a lot. I've seen pics of most of those, but not much of the technical specs so that's more food for thought.
I'm liking the Giesemann, especially the 150W / 4x29w T5 model. I could easily see 3 of those in blue above the tank. The Photon MH/T5 combo looks nice also, and I really like the 6 tube T5 option, but that's a whopping 18 bulbs for 3 fixtures??? Wondering about the practicality of that over the long run. You wouldn't happen to know if the Giesemann is going to use internal or external ballasts would you? My innitial plan is to run the power cords up to the ceiling where they will integrate (plug?) into that modular raceway track. So, the frewer power cords the better. From there it will be just the raceway running across, down the wall and into the stand, which I'm hoping will be a nice clean look. Those lighting control interfaces that are offered as options look super sweet, but I'm not sure if the cords will go the distance since the fixture farthest from the wall would need in excess of 20' of cord to make it into the stand. The Elos units use a single power cord and a telephone type cord routed back to the controller. But that's like a $200 add on per fixture for the interface, not counting the controller. Granted, that gets you a ton of bells and whistles, but when I priced those puppies out with the interface and the custom color I was looking at nearly$1,800 per unit - which was just insane. Crazy I can handle, but insane is out of my budget I'm even kicking around the idea of mounting Intermatic digital type timers directly to the fixtures that have internal ballasts. I imagine all it would take is a good location and some cutouts in the metal. My SLS BlueWave ballast boxes came that way. Just a rectangular hole punched into the sheetmetal and the timers are press fit into the hole so only the LCD window is exposed. Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#63
10/07/2006, 11:25 AM
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If push comes to shove and you don't come up with anything, PM me and we'll talk more. Brett |
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#64
10/09/2006, 12:35 AM
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Well, with that in mind, I'd look at the Giesemann Infiniti, AquaMedic Oceanlight, and the Sunlight NG. The photon is $1900 per unit. Ouch.
The Infiniti is supposed to have external ballasts and has nice adjustable MH reflectors so you can change the spread. They are supposed to be here soon, but I don't know where here is. They are supposed to retail for $1200 to $1400 a piece.The Sunlight NG is superior to the Oceanlight due to the reflector design and number of T-5's in each pendent. They also include moonlights. They are available through customaquatic. The only drawback IMO is the whole internal ballast thing. Longevity may be an issue, and those whoe own them state that they are HEAVY. The Oceanlight's reflector is the hammertone style, but it encompasses the entire bulb. It may not be good for intensity, but many users report superior spread. It has external ballasts with super long cords. Some users say the ballasts make a little noise.
__________________
I refrain from using the word "hobby". You don't refer to your dog or cat as a "hobby." |
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#65
10/09/2006, 12:55 PM
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Wow... lots of good info tacocat!
I really like the look of open top tanks with a really nice light fixture hanging above it. However the power cables are difficult to hide and make attractive. Cant wait to see what you come up with.
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#68
10/10/2006, 03:00 PM
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i feel bad even asking becuase im sure its already been asked a ton of times, but...
how much were those faux piling that you ordered and how did you go about ordering them?....also was that side of the tank with the piling a fuge? thanks josh |
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#69
10/11/2006, 04:02 PM
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how much were those faux piling that you ordered and how did you go about ordering them? Josh, Price all depends on what you want and who you get it from. Something like that is a custom piece and is made to order. David L. Manwarren (DLM Corp) over in Rancho Cucamonga CA. did that one and if I remember correctly the original quote for a finished piece was in the 2K neighborhood. I was able to cut that in half by going with a stripped down version and then finshing it off myself. also was that side of the tank with the piling a fuge?? The piling tank was a very simple mixed species tank that contained a few corals and a handful of fish. I don't/didn't run a fuge. At least not in the sense you are probably most familiar with. Brett Last edited by Putawaywet; 10/11/2006 at 04:38 PM. |
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#70
12/17/2006, 08:44 PM
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wow! Your first tank was amazing I can only imagine how this will turn out but so far I for one am impressed. Great work and well designed.
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Check out my 125 tank build thread! Just click on the red house above^ |
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#74
12/31/2006, 09:33 AM
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taco, where is your thread? |
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#75
01/02/2007, 02:23 PM
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Unfortunately, I'm fighting things beyond my control.
Not trying to bore anyone with my troubles but let's just say.... Ex husband's who don't like the way things go in court and subsequently move out of state and decide to pay their child support whenever it's conveinent for them are a real drag. Acrylic prices have gone up considerably in the past year and my tank estimate jumped 25%. As a result I'm now shopping around for quotes. And even worse... now that the project is severely behind schedule I'm facing the reality of running into our wedding planning timetable. And while my fiance totally loves the tank, I'd sooner eat glass than put a lighting unit in front of her wedding plans. At best, with the delay, and tank cost increase, I'm realistically looking at getting just the tank and perhaps a Vortec or two. I guess on the positive side, with more European lighting finding their way across the pond and EcoTech not releasing their wireless controller untill summer/fall, I'm hoping that somehow these delays will work out in my favor somewhere down the road. Happy New year to everyone! Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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